Wednesday, February 20, 2013

The Party of a Lifetime

Last September I went to the party of a lifetime. No, I'm not exaggerating.

On
Sunday, September 16th, 2012, my daughter got married and I had my
moment as Mother of the Bride. It was truly a day like no other: exhilarating, sacred, and a bit overwhelming.

Weddings
can be complicated events. While meant to be a celebration of love and
commitment, shared with family and friends, they can sometimes feel like
a list of things to be done. And more than just a mere list, but rather
a triathlon, a quest, and an exhibition of skill. So many things which
must be done right. So many ways to try to be perfect while others are
watching.

Well,
this moment, right here, is the one that matters most to me. Our
wonderful photographer, Kathy Shilling, made sure that this moment
happened and was captured--for us.

A
moment, before the mirror, of reflection and love. In that image she
caught a relationship: two feisty women who had to grow up together,
making their own way.

I
share this moment with you because I'm looking ahead to another party
of a lifetime. Okay, maybe I'm wandering into a bit of hyperbole this
time. I'm referring to the upcoming hocoblogs party at Union Jack's, on
Tuesday, February 26th. Sponsored
by Bill Woodock of The 53 and Claire McGill of UK Desperate Housewife,
it will offer hocolocal bloggers and their readers a chance to meet,
mingle, and hang out for a few hours.

This
party has special meaning for me. I'll be coming with the author of
HoCoHouseHon. You see the two of us pictured above. We are, to my
knowledge, the only mother/daughter bloggers in the hoco. No, we don't
wear matching dresses or anything like that.

We're two feisty women, making our own way.

I
have heard some women express the view that their daughter's wedding
day was the zenith of their relationship, the high point of motherhood.
Not so for me.What
makes me happiest is seeing my daughter grow as a writer, a talent she
showed from very early in her life. While she had the gift, she didn't
often believe in herself. It's hard to be a parent when you see your
child's strengths so clearly while she herself is unsure.

I've
loved writing my entire life. My mother shared a love of words with me.
I passed it on. Many's the bedtime that got put off to look up
interesting words in the dictionary. I've been blogging since 2011 and
recently started a Facebook page for the blog. Alice started her own
blog in 2011 and then life and work intervened. Until now.

2012
marked her return to writing and her commitment to life as a writer.
Her blog provides me a certain exquisite discomfort as I read pieces
that are so much better than anything I could write. Isn't that what we
should want? We raise our children to be able to try their wings,
to fly out on their own: beautiful, capable, strong.

I hope I'll see you at the party on the 26th. It should be easy to find us--look for the two feisty women.

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This blog contains personal reflections, comments, and hyperlinks. I write about what I care about. I am extremely careful to post only what I know to be the truth. I will sometimes make mistakes and I am usually pretty good about admitting and correcting them.

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About Me

Julia McCready Is an Early Childhood Educator specializing in Music and Movement in Howard County, Maryland. She has served on the Oakland Mills Village Board. She moved to Columbia in 1999 and is still trying to figure it all out.